Macomb Transit Center open house Monday

Sunday

Mar 31, 2013 at 6:00 AM

To celebrate the grand opening of the new Macomb Transit Center at 701 E. Pierce St., an open house and tour will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday, April 1.

The public is invited to attend, according to a news release. During the open house, buses will run continuously to and from the Macomb Transfer Center, which is next to the Macomb Train Station, and the Sherman Hall front parking lot to the transit facility.

The facility houses the administrative offices, dispatch centers, driver training, bus and van storage, fueling station, a vehicle wash building and vehicle maintenance center for the McDonough County Public Transportation Program, which includes Western Illinois University's Go West transit system.

The $13.8 million grant-funded project involved the renovation of a former manufacturing facility on East Pierce Street in Macomb.

A portion of the building was demolished, and the remaining 80,000 square feet was renovated, incorporating "green" technology into the project including solar tracking skylights, high efficiency heating and cooling, reflective roof materials and well-insulated walls and ceilings.

In addition to the $13.8 million construction grant, an additional $1.1 million in grant funding was awarded to the city of Macomb for the purchase of two large buses and three super-medium buses, according to Jude Kiah, director of WIU's Go West transit system.

The project, which was completed by Laverdiere Construction of Macomb, began Nov. 21, and was completed four weeks ahead of the projected April 29 completion date.

Kiah noted that in FY'12, MCPT provided more than 2 million one-way rides in Macomb and McDonough County. Demand response and paratransit ridership accounted for 50,731 trips, while the fixed routes accounted for 1.9 million trips.

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